Global Roundup: FGM in The Gambia, EU Abortion Rights, Serbia LGBTQ+ Activists Protest, India Film on Trans Life, Philippines Chairlesque & Women’s Empowerment
Curated by FG Contributor Samiha Hossain
Image via Catch Them Young (Gambia)
Women's rights are under threat as The Gambia's parliament discusses a bill to roll back a ban on female genital mutilation (FGM). The country explicitly criminalized FGM in 2015. Carrying out the procedure is punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of 50,000 dalasi ($736 or €674), or both, and where FGM causes death, life imprisonment.
The debate around FGM flared in mid-2023 after three women were convicted under the law. They were ordered to pay a fine of 15,000 dalasi or serve a year in jail for carrying out female genital mutilation on eight infant girls aged between four months and one year. These were the first convictions under the law. Prior to this, only two people had been arrested and one case brought to court, according to UNICEF, and no convictions or sanctions had been handed down. This is despite nearly three out of four girls and women, or 73%, having undergone female genital mutilation in The Gambia.
The private bill, proposed by individual members of parliament, to scrap the law outlawing FGM argues that the current prohibition violates citizens' rights to practice their culture and religion. Supporters of FGM believe it can "purify" and protect girls during adolescence and before marriage. Parliamentary reporter Arret Jatta told DW that she wasn't surprised that the pro-FGM bill has come before parliament, given the heated discussions in the past months. For Fatima Jarju, an FGM survivor who sensitizes women in Gambia to the harms of the procedure, the debate is damaging women's rights.
I think it's a big setback, And also looking at our human rights standards as a country and also the commitment from the government to protecting the rights of women and girls of this country. -Fatima Jarju
Many anti-FGM activists stress, however, that legislation alone is insufficient to tackle FGM, especially when it lacks enforcement, as is the case in The Gambia. Rugiatu Turay in Sierra Leone, one of the six African nations without a law against FGM, has gained international recognition for her work combating FGM. The strategies she uses include the development of rites of passage for girls that don't involve cutting, finding alternative livelihoods for the cutters and intense community engagement.
Generally, in Africa, people make laws to satisfy their donor partners. But when it comes to implementation, they are not implemented. If every sector in our country speaks about the cut and the scar — and its consequences — I tell you, we will end FGM. -Rugiatu Turay
The Gambia’s parliament will discuss the pro-FGM bill again later this month.
Demonstrators hold placards as they attend a march in support of the Abortion Rights group, in London, on July 9, 2022. - Copyright Alberto Pezzali/AP Photo
Women's rights activists across Europe are joining forces to push for a dedicated funding mechanism in the European Union to make sure that women in the bloc have access to abortion. The movement called "My Voice, My Choice" was launched in Slovenia on Tuesday and brought together activists from several European countries including Spain, Finland, Poland, France, Croatia, and Ireland.
We are organising at the European level to push the abortion issue forward. We will collect signatures to have member states opting into a programme that will provide them with financing when they provide abortions and reproductive care to residents from other member states. -Marta Lempart, a leader of the Polish Women's Strike
The launch of the campaign came a day after French lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favour of enshrining abortion access in the Constitution. European activists said the French vote was inspiring and a good example for women's rights movements. Furthermore, they said the purpose of the initiative was to make sure that Europe does not follow the United States in rolling back abortion rights, adding that women in Europe still face risks due to a lack of services.
We saw what happened in the US, where millions of women were left without a safe and professional option to terminate pregnancy overnight. Bans do not reduce the number of abortions, but they undoubtedly increase the number of illegal and dangerous abortions. -Nika Kovač, coordinator of the campaign and director of the 8th of March Institute
They aim to collect a million signatures in support of their proposal over the next few months. Nearly all EU countries allow abortion access upon request but there has been pressure to limit rights in some states. There have also been efforts by anti-abortion organisations to change abortion laws.
LGBTQ+ activists during a protest in Belgrade, Serbia. (Instagram/Da Se Zna)
Hundreds of protestors gathered in the capital of Serbia, Belgrade, on Wednesday to call for prosecutions over claims of police brutality. The protestors called on the authorities to address an incident on 26 February in which two LGBTQ+ people were allegedly abused during a police raid.
Activists marching alongside the activist group Da Se Zna (which translates as ‘To Be Clear’) alleged that the two individuals, whose home was raided following claims of drug use, were abused, tortured and sexually harassed.
We are often told that we should keep our love within our own four walls. I don’t agree with that, first of all, but we also see that they don’t even let us have peace within our four walls. -Protestor
Officials reportedly said they were investigating a complaint made against the officers and the raid, and were focusing on “determining the truthfulness of the allegations”. Da Se Zna alleged, however, that investigating officials had already rejected the complaint.
Queer rights are a contentious issue in the Balkan nation, where social policies are heavily influenced by the Serbian Orthodox Church. What few rights LGBTQ+ people have in the country have been hard-fought, while adoption and same-sex marriage have yet to be legalised.
Deepa Mehta (left) and Sirat Taneja on the set of Here & Queer. (CBC Arts)
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Deepa Mehta and first-time documentarian Sirat Taneja worked together — largely shooting on smartphones — to offer us an unprecedented window into the trans life Taneja leads in India. The film is called I Am Sirat.
Mehta and Taneja met four years ago, when Taneja was acting in a pilot Mehta was shooting in New Delhi. At the time, Taneja was performing as a transgender god. They spent one week together and really got to know each other. The two kept in touch, and four years later, Mehta was back in New Dehli and the two met up.
We hung around my mother's house and she started telling me about what it felt like to be a hijra, which is a subsect of the transgender community in India, and why she left it. And I said, 'let me write it down.' And she said, 'no, no, no, don't do that. Why don't you film me? Because otherwise you'll forget. -Deepa Mehta
Mehta agreed, and two days later Taneja called her and asked if Mehta could make a film about her.
What she told me is that she wanted a film to be made so she could show it to her mother, and that her mother could see it and then realize that she is not different and that she's accepted by many people…And she also wanted other people to see it, to see that transgender people are not different from anybody else. -Deepa Mehta
As the film makes its way out into the world, Taneja says she hopes that when people see it they get a chance to breathe and to embrace themselves. Mehta translates for Taneja:
She feels like she is flying and that she's spreading her wings. And that whatever she wishes for, she will acquire in her life. And what she wishes for is acceptance. -Deepa Mehta
JAM STA ROSA / AFP
In the Philippines, a burlesque and chair dancing studio is helping women express their sexuality and accept their bodies. Like other women inside the softly lit studio in the Philippine capital Manila, Guno is learning to express her sexuality and accept her body through chairlesque. Chairlesque is a combination of burlesque and chair dancing, which uses a chair as a centrepiece or prop in choreography.
I've been bullied since I was a child for being chubby, so I became insecure. I chose this because of the safe space and I feel it allows me to express my emotions more. I feel sexy as well and it's really giving me the confidence that I want. -Guno, 29
Noreen Claire Efondo, who runs the chairlesque classes in Manila, began teaching the style in 2017 to help women "feel sexy", challenging Filipino society's taboos around sex. Women as old as 50 take part in the classes, which start with students sharing their insecurities about their bodies and sexuality. Efondo then teaches the women dance steps and how to move their bodies to the sultry music when standing, sitting on a chair or lying on the floor.
Single mother Henna So, 50, enrolled because she wanted to "express" and "explore" herself after her child had grown up.
I just want to give this for myself. After everything that I've given, taking care of my son, I think it's time to love myself. You need to love yourself first before everything else. -Henna So
Clinical sexologist Rica Cruz said women were discouraged from discussing or expressing their sexuality in the Philippines, where nearly 80 percent of the population is Catholic. Sex was still considered "shameful" and a taboo subject, Cruz said. To attract new students, Efondo posts choreographed videos on social media that sometimes receive negative comments such as "it's a disgrace" to women.
Guno spotted one of the videos on TikTok two years ago and, despite her fears, signed up. In the beginning, she wore thigh-high socks and a long-sleeved shirt to cover her body. Now, Guno feels comfortable dancing in nothing more than a bra and bikini bottoms. She's also training to be a chairlesque instructor so she can help other women learn to accept themselves.
It's so difficult in the Philippines. I do not fit in many people's standards of beauty. It is important for all of us to feel sexy. -Guno
Samiha Hossain (she/her) is an aspiring urban planner studying at Toronto Metropolitan University. Throughout the years, she has worked in nonprofits with survivors of sexual violence and youth. Samiha firmly believes in the power of connecting with people and listening to their stories to create solidarity and heal as a community. She loves learning about the diverse forms of feminist resistance around the world.